Week 8: syntax of complex sentences Flashcards
What are the two ways that a clause can be embedded within another?
Coordination
Subordination
What is coordination?
Two constituents belonging to the same category are conjoined to form another constituent of that category.
What is a subordinate clause?
One that functions as a dependent, rather than a cohead.
What structure is considered as doubly headed?
A coordinate structure
Is the verb finite or non-finite in a main clause?
Finite
What are verb forms like in a subordinate clause?
Subordinate clauses may have non-finite verbs or different moods.
What is subject presence like in a subordinate clause?
Certain types of subordinate clauses may lack (obligatorily or optionally) a subject NP
Describe features of word order in a subordinate clause
A subordinate clause may have different word order constraints, often there is less freedom or variability
What is the matrix verb?
A verb in the main clause which determines the type of complement clause
What is a complement clause?
Clauses that occur as complements of a verb, that is they are required or licensed by the function of the verb.
What do complement clauses function as?
The subject or object of the another clause (the matrix clause)
Name the four categories that complement clauses often fall into
- Proposition
- Fact
- Y/N question
- Outcome
Are complement clauses finite or non-finite?
They may be either.
What is a complementizer?
A special word used to introduce a complement clause
What type of complementizer is “that”?
finite declarative complementizer
What type of complementizer is “for”?
non-finite declarative complementizer
What type of complementizer are “whether” and “if”?
Interrogative complementiser
(“If” = finite interrogative complementiser)
When is it most natural for complement clauses to act as a clausal subject?
Using extraposition (rephasing sentences using a dummy subject)
What is an adjunct clause?
A clause that provides additional information such as time, place, manner and reason.
What is an adjunct?
Elements which are non subcategorized by the verb but which are added to the sentence to provide various kinds of information.
What are the most common types of adjuncts?
Adverbs
Prepositional phrases
Adjunct causes
Subordinating conjunctions
The word used to introduce adjunct clauses, many of these words are also used to introduce prepositional phrase adjuncts
Are adjunct clauses finite or non-finite?
Both
What is a relative clause?
A clause which modifies the head noun within a noun phrase.
It is a type of adjunct clause.
What are the basic parts of a relative clause?
The head noun
The modifying clause
The relativizer: links the modifying clause to the head
What is a restrictive relative clause?
The modifying relative clause restricts the (or narrows) the identity of the referent to a specific member of a set.
What is a non-restrictive relative clause?
One in which the referent can be identified independently, the clause simply presents additional information about the reference.
How are restrictive and non-restrictive clauses indicated in English?
Non-restrictive clauses are often indicated by pauses (often shown with commas), restrictive relative clauses are not
What is the modifying clause introduced with in restrictive relative clauses?
that
a wh- word
nothing
What is the modifying clause introduced by in non-restrictive clauses?
a wh-word
Which type of relative clause are proper names natural heads of?
Restrictive
What is an externally headed relative clause?
One in which the head noun occurs outside the modifying clause.
What is an internally headed relative clause?
One in which the head nouns appears inside the modifying clause.
Which is more common: externally or internally headed relative clauses?
externally
(only a few languages have internally headed relative clauses)
What is a relativizer?
A special type of complementiser which marks the modifying clause in a relative clause construction.
(that)
What is a relative pronoun?
Anaphoric elements which introduce the modifying clause and take the head noun as its antecedent.
(wh- words)
What is the biggest difference between relativizers and relative pronouns?
Relativizers are not types of pronouns and so are invariant particles whereas relative pronouns are inflected for case.
What are the strategies used to indicate the relativised function?
- the gap strategy
- relative pronoun
- pronoun retention
What is the relativised function?
The grammatical relation that is assigned to the head noun within the modifying clause.
What is gap strategy?
When we have a missing argument in the modifying clause, the head noun is interpreted as filling this gap.
What complementiser is used in gap strategy?
That or nothing
Explain relative pronouns as a strategy to indicate the relativised function
A pronominal element introduces the modifying clause, this pronominal element is co-referential with the head noun.
Explain pronoun retention as a strategy to indicate the relativised function
The relativised function is represented by a pronominal “copy” of the head noun (resumptive pronoun) which occurs inside the modifying clause and agrees with the head noun in number and gender.
Which relativisation strategy doesn’t occur in English?
pronoun retention
What is a headless relative?
ones that do not have a head noun, they take normal NP markers and contain a modifying clause which may be proceeded by a relative pronoun or relativizer.
What is the closest thing in English to a headless relative?
A free relative construction and headless NPs with adjectival modifiers (e.g. the poor)
What is a free relative construction?
An NP that looks like a content question (an interrogative complement).
The free relative typically refers to a thing whereas an interrogative complement clause refers to a proposition.
Binding Principle A
Reflexive pronouns need an antecedent in their own clause (i.e. they are clause bounded)
Binding principle B
Regular (i.e. non-reflexive) pronouns must be separated from the antecedent by a clause boundary.
What is a clause comprised of?
A predicate and a set of arguments
What is a predicate?
An expression denoting an activity, state or event (i.e. a verb).
What is an argument?
An expression denoting a participant in the relevant activity, state or event.
In x-place predicate, what does x denote?
The number of arguments they take.
What are the 5 most important semantic roles?
Agent
Patient
Theme
Experiencer
Stimulus
What is the agent?
The initiator of an action.
What is the patient?
The entity which is affected by an action.
What is a theme?
An entity which undergoes a change of state, location or possession or whose location or possession is specified.
What is an experiencer?
An animate entity which experiences a sensation or emotion or perceived a stimulus.
What is a stimulus?
An object of perception or cognition, or entity that prompts an emotion.
What does control refer to?
A grammatical structure where a particular argument of a (subordinate) clause is omitted and interpreted as referring to an argument of another clause (generally the matrix clause).
What is the controlee?
The missing argument in control.
What is the controller?
The argument interpreted as being referred to in control.
What is object control?
The object of the main clause controls the subject of the complement clause.
What is subject control?
The subject of the main clause controls the object of the complement.
Control predicates and semantic role
Control predicates assign semantic roles to their subject.
Raising predicates and semantic roles
Raising predicates do not assign semantic roles to their subjects.
Control predicates and dummy subjects
Control predicates cannot take dummy subjects.
Raising predicates and dummy subjects.
Raising predicates can take dummy subjects.
Selectional restrictions and control predicates
Control predicates impose selectional restrictions.
Selectional restrictions and raising predicates.
Raising predicates do not impose selectional restrictions.
Control predicates and passivization
When passivized, the meaning of the sentence as a whole is altered.
Raising predicates and passivization
Passivization does not affect the propositional meaning in any significant way.
Control predicates and idiom chunks
Do not allow one part of an idiomatic expression to appear on the subject position without losing the idiomatic meaning of the expression.
Raising predicates and idiom chunks
Allow one part of an idiomatic expression to appear on the subject position without losing the idiomatic meaning of the expression.
Give an example of a control predicate
Try
Give an example of a raising predicate
Seem
